NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Jordan Switzer makes a of save in the first period of his 22-save shutout to propel the Tigers 1-0 over the Regina Pats at Co-op Place on Saturday.
Single Saturday Night is a 2020 country pop song from Cole Swindle. It’s also three words that describes the WHL action at Co-op Place on Saturday night.
An early second period goal from Niilopekka Muhonen was all the Medicine Hat Tigers needed as they blanked the visiting Regina Pats 1-0. Jordan Switzer made 22 saves for his second shutout of the season.
“I was seeing the puck well and the guys in front of me made it really easy on me tonight,” Switzer said.
Saturday night was also his 20th win of the season, putting him tied for sixth among WHL goaltenders in wins.
“He made some huge breakaway saves, he looked confident and comfortable all night,” associate coach Joe Frazer said about Switzer. “He was swallowing pucks and didn’t give up a ton of rebounds.”
The Tigers came into the contest off a pair of wins in Saskatchewan, the most recent a 3-1 win over the Prince Albert Raiders on Wednesday.
After a scoreless first period, Medicine Hat struck early in the second.
The Tigers had the puck in the Regina end, with Ryder Ritchie in the corner to the right of starter Ewan Huet. He circled towards up ice, sending a pass to Muhonen in the slot who wired home a goal 52 seconds into the frame. Ritchie’s assist gives him points in seven-straight games.
Gavin McKenna had the second assist on Muhonen’s third of the season, extending McKenna’s point streak to 31 games.
It was the 18-year-old Finnish blue liner’s first goal since Oct. 11, a welcomed sight for the 6-foot-5 Tiger.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve scored, so it felt really nice,” Muhonen said.
The rest of the middle frame went without a goal, but saw some fisticuff action as Tiger defenceman Jonas Woo dropped the gloves with Pats’ forward Keets Fawcett with 48 seconds left in the frame.Regina forward Julien maze took a roughing penalty with 14 seconds left in the period, his second roughing penalty of the frame, putting the Tigers on their second power play.
The Tigers didn’t score on the power play to open the third and even more of a concern, Woo did not return to the game. Frazer had no update postgame and says the 18-year-old will have to be evaluated.
Medicine Hat is already missing 18-year-old Bryce Pickford from the lineup, he suffered an upper body injury in a fight on Feb. 2 that has kept him out since and has him out week to week. Tyson Moss has filled in on the backend for Pickford with 16-year-old Riley Steen the lone signed option left for the Tigers if Woo is out with injury.
The Tigers hunkered down in the third, with five defenceman, looking to preserve the one goal lead.
“We’ve really talked about not giving up out-numbered rushes against and we did a really good job back there,” Frazer said. “We did a really good job on the defensive end with the right reads, knowing when to pinch and when not to. I really liked our defence tonight.”
Muhonen says the extra ice time is sometimes a positive but can also be a negative when they get hemmed in their end. He liked how they stuck to short shifts following Woo’s injury.
“We played really shorter shifts so we didn’t get gassed out,” Muhonen said. ”
The Tigers weathered the storm in the third period, outshooting the Pats 16-11. Regina pulled the goalie with 1:40 left in the game, looking for the equalizer. A blocked shot from Mat Ward and a pair of stops from Switzer preserved the Tiger win. It was a night of group efforts Frazer says.
“Working together as a group of five, I thought that was one of our better second periods at home in the last couple games,” Frazer said. “It was great to get back to that, we want to be a great second period team with that short change. So the guys did a really good job working hard.”
The Tigers outshot Regina 38-22, also winning the face-off battle 24-21. Neither team scored on the power play, with the Pats having just one chance and the Tigers stopped on a pair of man advantages.
Medicine Hat also received some standings help around the league, with Calgary falling 4-2 at Prince Albert to the Raiders and the Lethbridge Hurricanes losing 4-3 to the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Tigers remain in first place of the Central division and Eastern conference, sitting three points ahead of the Hitmen and five up on the Hurricanes, with those teams holding three and two games in hand respectively.
The Tigers(36-16-3-1) host the Hurricanes on Monday at Co-op Place, with Family Day puck drop slated for 2 p.m.
Game notes
Attendance: 3,606
Three stars
First star: MH Jordan Switzer (22-save shutout)
Second star: REG Ewan Huet (37 saves)
Third star: MH Niilopekka Muhonen (1G, GWG)
